10

Aug

Chimbel, Tuem projects finally moving forward

PANAJI
Although the government has not announced fresh dates for completion of the two major information technology (IT) projects in the state coming up at Chimbel and Tuem, it looks as if the projects are moving at last.
Work on both the projects – the IT Park at Chimbel and the Electronic City at Tuem – has improved in the last six months, according to information gathered by this daily.
In Chimbel, mutation of the full area measuring 4.49 lakh square metres has been carried out and land ownership transferred to the department of IT. Master plan for 1.33 lakh sq mt of land (phase 1) has been submitted to the town and country planning (TCP) department and technical clearance for the same is awaited from the Greater Panaji Planning and Development Authority. The fee for the technical clearance is expected to be paid shortly.
The government has selected Turbosketch, Fatorda, for conducting survey of the plot layout and fixing of the boundary. Further, a consultant has also been shortlisted for engineering design and related utilities.
The Chimbel IT Park is being developed in phases, with phase 1 of 1.33 lakh sq mt meant for a startup village. The water requirement of the park is 4.7 million litres per day (MLD) and the electricity load 63.45 MW. The park is projected to generate 5,000-7,000 jobs over a period of eight-ten years.
For the electronic system design and manufacturing (ESDM) cluster at Tuem, the government has received Rs 27.1 crore out of the total grant-in-aid of Rs 73.7 crore. The money has been deposited in an escrow account with State Bank of India. The total project cost of the ESDM cluster is estimated at Rs 161.3 crore of which Rs 73.7 crore is via central grant.
The land requirement for the Electronic City is 5.97 lakh sq mt and a proposal for land conversion for 3.92 lakh sq mt has been submitted to the Collector, North Goa. The project is estimated to create jobs for 5,000-6,000 people over a period of three-five years.
According to the IT department, several companies have shown interest in setting up units in the Electronic City once it comes up. The companies showing interest include Aequs, Smart Link Network, Optel Vision and GIT Electronics.
Both the IT projects are being planned to attract investors to the state. They were proposed in 2015 but it is not clear when they will finally come up. In 2015, the government had finalised property firm Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) as a consultant and paid Rs 98 lakh towards consultancy fees.